Garden of forgotten dreams
by Leya
Summary: For the first time in their lives Dark and Satoshi worked together. They tried to destroy an dangerous artefact but something went terribly wrong... DarkKrad, DaiSat
1. Prologue

The garden of ghosts  
Thanks to devila for just being there and listening

- - -

Prologue

"You're scared."

"I'm not." The black-haired boy denied fiercely but his classmate only grinned knowingly and Aaron felt obliged to defend himself. "There is nothing to be afraid of!"

"Then surely you're not too cowardly to join me tonight into a little walk."

"Of course not", Aaron told him in a firm voice but Tsuyoshi could see a hint of fear flickering deep inside those brown eyes. "But why should I?"

Tsuyoshi smiled coldly and tapped his index-finger rhythmically against his desk. "Because I know how much you long to be accepted. It's your chance to prove to me that your worth to join the club."

Aaron swallowed and regarded his classmate carefully. Could it really be the truth? For more than two years now he tried to make friends in his new class but it wasn't easy for him. Being the only English boy in a Japanese class, this alone was reason enough for his classmates to avoid him but Aaron never gave up in hoping that someday one of the other boys would finally befriend him. And above all he wished nothing more than to be accepted by Tsuyoshi and the other members of 'The Club of the Lionhearted'. Everyone was eager to join and Aaron was no exception.

But no-one had asked him. Until now…

"Well? What do you say?"

The boy nodded and Tsuyoshi shot him a triumphant smile.

"Fine. Tonight you will visit the old witch in the house on the hill. We'll meet right in front of the gate. At midnight."

- - -

To be honest Tsuyoshi wasn't as courageous as he pretended to be. But coaxing the foreign boy in his class into doing something dangerous and adventurous had been too good an opportunity to resist.

Sneaking out of his house had been simple. Tsuyoshi was rather practiced in leaving his parents house by night and used his skills to explore the dark streets and alleyways with relish.

Slowly he turned a corner and there it was. Right in front of him on the top of the hill stood an old and dilapidated house. A wall of rough stones, overgrown with ivy and burs circled the place. The only way up to the house led through a rusty iron-gate and over a small sandy path which went twisting and turning through the knee-high grass.

Tsuyoshi, in a pose of coolness and haughtiness, leaned against the stonewall and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

The clock stroke midnight but still there was no sign of that rabbit-faced English boy...

"Boo!"

Tsuyoshi jumped with shock and stared unbelievingly at his classmate who somehow had managed to sneak up on him.

"Ow...I'm sorry! Did I scare you?"

That did it. Growling Tsuyoshi hid his unease behind a mask of fury and annoyance and tried to pay his classmate back for nearly making him lose control. "Spare those stupid jokes for your test! I'm sure you won't be this loud-mouthed when we go up there!"

Aaron followed his gaze and now it was at him to cover up his true feelings by a indifferent smile. "Do you really believe in ghosts? Trust me, such things doesn't exist. In England…"

His classmate grimaced contemptuously and regained his superior manner. "As I said before, you're scared. It's obvious. I can see it in your eyes. And... you're trembling!"

"That's not true!" Aaron denied once again but all he got was a knowing look from his classmate. Unexpectedly on the verge of tears the only way out of this dreadful situation seemed to be to turn around and flee. But instead of doing what seemed to be the reasonable thing he found himself walking determinedly to the gate.

Footsteps followed him quickly and then Tsuyoshi was at his side, still this unnerving smile plastered over his face and seemingly very pleased with himself.

"They say that the old woman kills everyone coming to her doorstep but the children she prefers to imprison, feeding them with sweets, fulfilling their wishes and then…" He leaned in and whispered harshly: "…then she eats them."

"Very funny." Aaron swallowed hard but nonetheless moved on. He felt rather queasy but was too afraid to say so. His classmate would mock him about his cowardice and he would gamble away his only chance to ever be accepted. He wouldn't let _that_ happen.

"Okay, here's the plan. We'll go up there and you'll ring the bell. Talk to the witch and ask her if she recently has eaten one of your friends."

Aaron stopped dead in his tracks and stared unbelievingly at his classmate. "Are you insane? She'll call the police for deliberately insulting her and rightfully so."

Tsuyoshi only raised one of his brows but this time Aaron didn't give in. They stared at each other for several minutes and finally Tsuyoshi lowered his gaze. "Alright. Maybe it's a little bit extreme to ask something like that. But then you'll have to convince her to invite you in. Once inside find something you can bring with you to prove that you've really have been in her house. I guess a picture or something like that will do. I'll wait on the outside to testify your success."

"Fine." Aaron murmured to himself and nodded his consent. Silently the boys went up the hill. In front of the veranda they stopped and watched the old house for long moments before Tsuyoshi braced himself and went up the rotten steps to the door.

"Come on, scaredy-cat. It's your test and not mine."

His classmate obeyed quickly. He was looking for a bell but the inhabitant of the house didn't seem to have one. So Aaron grasped the knocker and froze. Blinking in surprise he stated in a slightly bewildered voice:

"The door is open."

"Really?" Tsuyoshi pushed him aside a shoved at the dark-wooden door. Creaking loudly the door swung back, offering the sight at a dusty floor.

"Are you really sure that its inhabited? I don't think so." Aaron watched the dust lying on the floor rather sceptically.

His classmate shrugged and took a step forward. "My parents told me that there is an old woman living up here but maybe she's already dead? No-one ever comes here and we're the ones to detect her corpse."

Aaron refused to answer. The whole situation unnerved him more and more but it was far too late to back down. If there was the slightest chance that there was an old woman needing their help he would never forgive himself when he just turned around and fled.

"Hello! Is there someone!"

"Shut up!" Tsuyoshi hissed in annoyance and hit his classmate hard on the shoulder. "Are you mad? What if…"

"Did you hear that?" Aaron interrupted the other boy and stared around wildly. For a moment he thought that there was someone whispering but the were alone. Dismissing the idea of someone watching them as illusion. Shuddering he turned around and in this instant a flurry of dusty air swept down the corridor and slammed the door shut.

"Let us go!" Suddenly more than frightened Aaron grabbed his classmate's arm and dragged him forward. When Tsuyoshi did nothing to follow him he turned around and froze in shock.

Two hands were emerging out of the surrounding shadows, carrying a bejewelled net which tangled lifelessly down between them.

"What on earth…?" Tsuyoshi asked in a stunned voice and suddenly the hands snapped to life, stretching the net to a taut line of glittering stones and meshes.

"Tsuyoshi!" Aaron cried out but it was too late.

The net swept over Tsuyoshi's head, closing tightly around him, before cutting like a razor through his body and viciously slashing his skin. For a long moment there seemed to be two Tsuyoshi's, one lucent the other frighteningly substantial and then the net was dragged back into the darkness and the body of his friend evaporated into a cloud of white dust.

Aaron never realised when he lost the control over his bladder only noticing what happened when he felt a warm substance running down his legs. His silent screams echoed in his head, all he wanted was to run, to let this nightmare behind him, but somehow his legs just won't obey.

And then an old woman resolved out of the wall in front of the boy and with a mocking grin on her old and wrinkled face she blow the remains of Tsuyoshi's body, which still lingered in the air, away.

Suddenly Aaron regained the control of his body. Screaming in horror he turned around and ran off, never looking back until he reached his home and broke down unconsciously on the doorstep.


	2. Haunted House

The Garden of ghosts

(1)  
Haunted House

In the middle of a mild summer's night the house on the hill was lying in nearly impenetrable darkness. Around the house the land was disturbingly quiet. Nothing seemed to be alive, not the slightest sound hinted even at the existence of the occasional trees or bushes.

Suddenly the headlights of a black limousine lit up the overgrown wall and finally coming to rest on the rust-coated gate.

It stopped right in front of the gate and a little while later the backdoor opened, releasing a boy of maybe fourteen or fifteen years. For a long moment the boy stood there and watched the house intently, only his light blue hair moving softly in the breeze.

_'Please think about it, Satoshi-sama.'_

'I've made a decision. It's a Hikari artwork and therefore its my responsibility.'

_'You're unreasonable. Look at the house. Can't you feel the magic emanating from it? It's dangerous and I don't want you to go there.'_

'Don't tell me your worried', the boy stated coldly and began to climb up the hill.

_'Of course I'm worried. It's my destination to protect you.'_

Satoshi snorted. 'Really? Could have fooled me.'

_'Please, Satoshi-sama. Don't make me stop you.'_

'Shut up and leave me alone', Satoshi told his demon rather harshly. His attention was directed at his goal and so he never noticed the pain passing quickly across the handsome features of his demon. 'It's my responsibility and I'm not trying to get around of it.'

_'It's eerie.'_

'No-one asked for your opinion.' The blue-haired boy snapped clearly irritated and continued on approaching the front-door of the old house. 'When you can say nothing important then do me a favour and say nothing at all.'

_'You're a fool. Let me out. I'll handle it. You don't know what you're getting yourself into.'_

'Don't you dare interfering. It's none of your business.' Satoshi slowed down and finally came to a halt. A shiver was running down his spine and suddenly he was sure that there was something in the shadows, watching him, noticing every single move he made...

"Hello, commander! Nice to see you!"

Before Satoshi even had a chance to react, two strong arms encircled his waist and the next moment he was dragged backwards with a hard body pressed against him.

"Wh…Dark!" Satoshi nearly screamed in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" The thief returned the question, a more than an obvious touch of mirth and amusement sparkling in his voice.

"Get off me, Kaitou!" The blue-haired boy snarled viciously and with a sudden move he broke free. Then he turned around to face his nemesis. "Don't get on my nerves, Dark! Answer my question."

The thief grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. Somehow he managed to look completely comfortable although he was standing in the middle of a lonely and rather uncanny hillside. "I'm here because you need my help."

Blinking in surprise Satoshi needed several seconds to process this newfound information but when it finally caved in he stepped back, blue eyes blazing with fury. 'How did you manage to tell him about our plan?'

_'I don't understand what you mean. Why should I talk to this annoying thief? I'm glad if I never have to see him again.'_

'Don't play dumb! I know you're blonde but this is ridiculous!'

_'I really don't know…'_

'Is that so? Then why are you not the slightest bit surprised that he's here?' Satoshi stated the obvious and decided to handle the thief on his own. "Get lost."

"Hey! At least you could be a little bit thankful. I'm willing to help you!"

"I don't need your help. Except for your annoying desire to grab every chance to steal something it's far too dangerous for Daisuke to be here. Bring him home, Dark. I can handle this on my own."

_'No you can't. You don't know what you are facing.'_

'And you know it? Then please enlighten me. Are we going to die?' The blue-haired boy threw an uneasy glance towards the house and although he never would have admitted his true feelings, he was certain that there was something evil waiting for him.

_'When you're lucky. But I think its more likely that the net will take your soul and make you suffer for the rest of eternity.'_

'You should have talked to _me_ before you told Dark about it. You deceived me.'

The blonde angel looked crestfallen. _"I'm sorry."_

His tamer ignored him. "Alright. You can come with me. But when I catch you stealing…"

"You don't have to pretend to be lion-hearted!" Dark draped one arm around Satoshi's shoulders and yanked him abruptly into a fierce embrace. The panicked look in the boys eyes made him laugh. "Whatever comes I'll protect you."

Lion-hearted...?

'Does he already know every children's illness I ever had? How could you tell him about the report the boy gave us?' Every single word was dripping with fury and Krad decided that it was time to make himself as invisible as possible. Satisfied to have maintained the upper hand over his curse, Satoshi inhaled sharply and told Dark in a firm voice: "Lets go and get over with this farce!"

"My, my. Aren't we eager?" Dark taunted again but this time the commander only turned his back on him and stomped up the hill.

**'You annoyed him. Why don't you apologise?'**

'Because he doesn't deserve it.'

Daisuke sighed but refused to answer. Instead he watched the old house in front of them with an uneasy feeling burning in his stomach.

'Don't worry, Daisuke. All will turn out well.' Dark tried to soothe his friend but he his words didn't have the desired effect. His alter ego was feeling rather uncomfortable and the thief doubted that it really had been a good idea for him to come.

**'He's my friend, Dark. I can't let him go into this terrible danger all on his own. What if he dies?'**

'I know, Daisuke. The moment Krad told me about the net I simply had to come here. The 'Net of the lost souls' is one of the most dangerous artefacts the Hikari's ever have created. Got hit by it and your soul is lost. Forever. And when I heard the gossip about an old woman living in a lonely house who possibly captures souls...'

Daisuke smiled reassuringly. **'We can't let this continue. This boy was... destroyed. I don't know how to describe it otherwise.'**

'And his friend is dead.'

Tamer and thief both fell silent as they remembered the blank stare of the dark-haired boy who murmured over and over again that he had seen an old woman with a net, capturing his friend, ripping his soul from his body and blowing the remains away. It had been rather disturbing to think about an artefact which could kill someone in the blink of an eye and leaving nothing at all, not even a body to mourn over.

Shuddering Daisuke vowed himself that he would do everything to render this thing harmless.

'Here we are.'

**'Oh joy.'**

Smirking the thief decided to let this statement pass without commenting. "Is there something we can call a plan?"

Standing in front of the house both boys seemed to be unsure what to do next. Dark waited several seconds but then suddenly he lost patience and grabbing the knocker he rapped resolutely against the door. Every blow reverberated like a bell through the building and regarding Satoshi's look of disdain the commander wasn't too happy with it.

"Great! Why don't you just brake down the door?"

Dark pretended to think about it but then he shook his head and smiled sweetly at his companion. "No, I don't think that's a good idea."

'Sometimes I just want to kill him.'

_'That's completely understandable. Every time I see him I get this unbridled desire to rip his heart out.'_

'And there I thought I finally succeeded in getting rid of you.'

Krad snorted and used his power to put Satoshi out of balance. Stumbling forward the blue-haired boy barely avoided crashing head-first against the door.

'Are you nuts!'

Krad only smiled and dissolved again.

"Is there something I should know?" Dark asked in studied concern and chuckled when Satoshi threw him a furious glare and lost his balance for a second time when suddenly the door, he was currently holding onto, swung back and revealed an old woman, leaning on a cane for support and watching them in a mixture of curiosity and caution.

"Yes?"

Dark was first to recover from his shock and conjured up a charming smile on his face. "I'm sorry to disturb you this late but our car broke down and your house was the nearest place we could find."

"Of course! Please come in!"

Frowning in irritation Satoshi followed Dark inside. 'Somehow I can't get rid of the feeling that I've missed something rather important.'

_'That's because an old and lonely woman asks two complete strangers in the middle of the night to come into her house without showing the slightest sign of fear.'_

'You're right.' Satoshi shuddered. 'This house gives me the creeps. I can feel the magic of the net in every fibre of the building.'

_'Me too. And I don't like it.'_ Krad shifted uneasily in his tamers mind. _'Please be careful, Satoshi. I don't want you to get hurt.'_

"And you live here alone? Aren't you frightened?" The thief asked curiously and looked around. They entered a homely furnished living-room.

"Why would someone hurt an harmless old woman like me?" Laughing their hostess gestured towards a green plush couch. "Sit down. I'll fetch you something to drink and then you can call a breakdown lorry for your car."

_'She's too friendly. I don't trust her.'_

'I guess we should look for the net and leave as soon as possible.'

"You're right." The thief smirked as he caught Satoshi's bewildered look. "No, I don't can read your mind. You asked this question aloud."

'Shit.'

"Did you feel the same?" Suddenly Dark flexed his body and seemed to listen. "The magic flared."

_'He's right. Seems as if the net has been activated.'_

"I've brought a homemade limonade for you!" The woman returned and placed the tablet on the table in the middle of the room. "I hope you'll like it."

"Thank you!" Dark took one of the glasses and sniffed cautiously at the light-coloured liquid. Smiling he turned the glass around and spilled its contents over the thick carpet.

"You ungrateful little...!" The woman hissed in annoyance and suddenly she seemed to be younger, stronger. Her eyes darkened dangerously. "Don't think you can escape your fate."

She raised her cane. The door slammed shut, locking itself, before the lights flickered and went out.

**'Dark? What happened?'**

'Hush, Daisuke. I need to concentrate.'

Spears of light flared up and both boys could do nothing else than to dove for cover. Blue-white streaks of magic, cutting through the darkness and burning everything on their search for prey.

**'What's this?'**

'It's the net. It can feel our souls and now it's searching for us.' The light missed the thief by a hair's breadth. 'Damn. That was close.'

**'Try to stay alive, okay?'**

'Don't make me laugh.' Dark turned around just in time to see a magical streak flashing in his direction. He threw himself down and the light shot over his head and crashed into a wall.

'This stupid thief risks far too much.' Satoshi slowly left his hiding place and tried to approach the witch from behind, moving through the room, skilfully avoiding the searching light. 'I have to find the source of her power.'

_'She needs physical contact to the net to use it. You have to act quickly. Give her no chance to defend herself.'_

It was a good advise but Satoshi never got the chance to implement it. Harsh white light suddenly caught him and banned him motionless there and then.

_'Watch out!'_

Krad ripped through him and pushed his tamer aside, just before he got hit by the light. Burning pain rushed through his body, setting his nerves on fire and then it was over and the last thing he saw was the shocked face of his tamer before everything went black.

'**Satoshi!'**

'Stop it, Daisuke! Stop!' For a long moment Dark felt his vision falter as Daisuke tried to regain control over their body. Struggling to keep the upper hand, the thief finally succeeded. Barely.

**'Help him! You can't leave him here!'** The boy sounded rather hysterically but the thief paid no attention. Dodging another magical streak he reached the commander. Grabbing the lifeless body he threw Satoshi over his shoulder and with the same movement he plucked one of his feathers and intoned an incantation.

Violet streaks of magic swirled around him and he felt the power of the net wavering. It was all he needed. Without hesitation he sprinted towards one of the windows. Glass shattered around him and then the soft darkness of the night enclosed him, covering his escape and protecting him on his way home.

tbc


	3. Desperation

Disclaimer: All the characters used in this story are the sole property of Yukiru Sugisaki.

Thanks to everyone who took the time and reviewd. I'm sorry for every grammatical error you may find but it's the best I can do and I really try to improve my (non-existent) english skills

- - -

Garden of forgotten dreams  
02 – Desperation

- - -

The ticking of a clock was the first sound the red-haired boy noticed when he finally woke up in his bed, not sure if the events of the previous night had been a nightmare or not.

'Believe me, everything has been frighteningly real.'

Abruptly Daisuke sat up, ignoring the slight nausea radiating through his body. **'Where's Satoshi?'**

'He's in the guestroom. Your mother took him in when we came back yesterday. I guess he's still unconscious.'

Slowly the redhead came to his feet and made his way to the door. **'I need to see him.'**

'Wouldn't it be better to talk to Emiko first?' Dark dared to raise objections to his friends actions.

Daisuke ignored him. Silently they crossed the floor and without hesitation the boy carefully opened the door to the guestroom and stepped inside.

Satoshi was lying on the bed. Still unconscious, his blue hair spread over the cushions and surrounding his head like a halo, Daisuke suddenly felt his mouth becoming dry.

The thief chuckled knowingly. 'I gather from your behaviour that you care for him.'

**'Of course I care! He's my friend! Nothing more nothing less!' **The red-haired boy defended himself although he knew it was rather futile. The thief had long ago picked up all the emotions growing inside his heart for this mysterious bluenette know lying right in front of him... His gaze flickered over the pale flesh where the blanket had gone out of place and bared a flawless shoulder to his hungry eyes. Could it be...?

'Get your mind out of the gutter.' The thief stated harshly and a little bit worried when his alter ego attempted to grab the covers. For whatever purpose Dark didn't dare to think about but it made him rather nervous.

**'I'll only wanted to make sure he's not freezing!' **His friend managed to look hurt and guilty at the same time.

'If you say so.' Pretending to be disinterested, Dark stifled a yawn. 'Now you've convinced yourself that he's alright can we please go and talk to your mother?'

Daisuke obviously wasn't willing to leave the room. Instead of following the thief's suggestion, he decided to stay. **'What happened?'**

The thief hesitated. 'I'm not sure.' 

He tried to retard his answer but Daisuke was insistent. **'Tell me! Is he dying?'**

'I have no idea. We don't even know if he still has his soul!'

**'But…'** The redhead chewed nervously on his bottom lip. **'When his soul is gone… what happens to him? Will he stay unconscious for the rest of his life? Or will he simply fade away like the boy who was caught several weeks ago?'**

'I don't know. All we can do is to wait if awakes.'

**'And if not?'**

Dark smiled sadly. 'Then we have to fight on our own.'

- - -

Pain. White, hot, blinding. Burning through every nerve and fibre of his body and leaving him exhausted and numb.

"Satoshi, please wake up!"

He knew this voice. He was absolutely sure that somehow he just _had_ to know…

"Satoshi, please! Don't give up. I know you can hear me!"

Something was missing. He could feel a terrible loss inside his mind and the pain of it nearly drove him insane. It was as if his soul was torn in half.

"Please… wake up…"

He never wanted to listen to obey when waking up meant to accept the loneliness constantly growing inside him.

Then a soft touch caught his attention. Something warm and tender pressed against his lips and Satoshi felt himself responding.

It was a very nice feeling… Curious he opened his eyes.

"Satoshi!" Daisuke's face came in his field of vision, a relieved smile on his lips. "We feared we had lost you!"

Had he been sick? This wasn't his room. The blue-haired boy looked around and noticed a pile of foreign clothes neatly folded on a stool nearby. Then his hand brushed over his thigh. Almost instantly a slight blush crept up his face when he realised that the covers were the only thing hiding his naked body from Daisuke's view.

"We had to undress you. Your clothes were torn beyond redemption and I thought it would be alright for you to borrow some of mine."

Wordlessly Satoshi tried to process this information and ended up accepting it. He was too tired to care anyway. His attention snapped back to the boy sitting beside him when Daisuke took his hand and squeezed it lightly.

"I know it is hard for you but please tell me what happened."

For a long moment Satoshi only stared at him, not sure if he would be able to vocalize the one thought that was predominant in his mind. But when Daisuke leaned in, clearly worried about him, he couldn't hold it back any longer.

"It hurts…"

"What hurts?"

Satoshi closed his eyes, trying to regain control over his feelings but the emptiness inside his mind pained him. "Krad. He's gone."

'What!'

Daisuke winced when the thief in his mind cried out in surprise. "How can he be gone?"

'When you think about it, it's rather obvious. Satoshi's still here but when Krad is gone then it must have been him who was taken by the net.'

**'Does this mean Satoshi's free?'**

Somehow Daisuke sounded too happy for his liking and Dark felt an uneasy feeling growing in his heart. Will he be equally happy when I'm gone? Then another realisation hit him and unexpectedly he felt tears forming in his eyes. 'He sacrificed himself…'

**'Dark?'**

The thief hastened to cover his sorrow with a presumptuous smile. 'It really is obvious, Daisuke. Krad took over Satoshi's body and ended up imprisoned by the net. Their separation was a forced one. In time Satoshi would have created a family and passed his curse on but as matters stands he now lost an important part of his soul and I'm sure all he can feel is emptiness where Krad should have been.'

**'Do you really think he misses him?'**

'It's not a question about missing. It's a question about need. He needs him. Otherwise it will take Satoshi forever to heal.'

Finally all the pieces fell in place. **'But its also possible that he'll never recover.'**

'Exactly.'

**'Then there is only one thing we can do.'** Daisuke stated firmly and the determination in his voice was sending a shiver of misgiving down the thief's spine. **'We have to bring Krad back.'**

- - -

"We need more information and Satoshi is the only one who can give them to us."

"But he's hurt!" Right after he woke for a very short time, the blue-haired boy had fallen unconscious again. Daisuke wasn't too happy about the thought of bothering Satoshi but his mother was persistent.

"I know that he's recovering from a trauma but we can't be considerate of his pain. We can't afford to waste any more time."

'She's right, Daisuke. The Hikari's created the net and therefore they have to know everything about it. And unfortunately Satoshi's the last of his line. There is no-one else we can ask.'

**'What makes you think that Satoshi can be of any help? Isn't it possible that he doesn't know anything at all?'**

'The Hikaris used to keep diaries about their artefacts wherein they described in detail appearance, effectiveness and possible ways of abatement. Hopefully those diaries are still existing.'

Daisuke told his mother what Dark had said and Emiko nodded. "I've heard about that, too. But none of us knows where those diaries are. The Hikaris hid them somewhere in their mansion."

"Mansion!" Daisuke knitted his brows. "I've never heard about a mansion. Satoshi's living in a small apartment."

His mother threw him an amused smile. "He may be living in an apartment but he's the last of the Hikari line. On this account he inherited all the family fortune. And believe me, the Hikaris are a rather wealthy family."

For several moments both Niwas were sitting in silence then the red-haired boy sighed in defeat and nodded. "I guess you're right. We have to ask him. But can we at least wait until he's waking up?"

Emiko shook her head. "Impossible. It may be days until he wakes and we need to start immediately."

"Alright." Daisuke slowly came to his feet. "But I'm the one questioning him. I don't want you to upset him"

The boy quickly left the room and his mother could do nothing else than to stare at him in mild wonder, asking herself if there was something she better should know about.

- - -

When Satoshi woke for the second time that day he felt a whole lot better than before although he still had the feeling to be incomplete.

Smiling humourlessly he reprimanded himself for being so inconsequent. Since the day he first learned about the curse he had to live with, he had wished to be free.

But losing Krad hurt more than he could ever have suspected. Deep inside his soul there was a place, now cold and deserted, where once the warm presence of his curse had been. His freedom was nothing more than a cruel lie.

Even if it was hard to admit: He couldn't live without his curse. And now he would give everything to have him back.

"You're awake!"

The soft voice of his friend took him by surprise and made the blue-haired boy flinch.

"How are you?" Daisuke sat down on the edge of the bed. Hesitating for only one moment he finally plucked up his courage and took Satoshi's hand. "Do you feel better?"

Completely caught off guard Satoshi could do nothing more than to stare at the boy sitting this confidentially beside him.

"Satoshi? Is everything alright?" Daisuke was clearly worried about his behaviour but Satoshi couldn't bring himself to answer.

Memories of his last encounter with the red-haired boy flooded his mind. He recognised the worry in Daisuke's eyes, his smooth voice full of concern and pity and suddenly out of the deepest part of his mind he remembered more… something had touched his lips, something soft and warm, so wonderfully tender he never wanted to miss it again and in this instant he realised that he must have been kissed by his friend.

Ranging between embarrassment and shock he found himself in a loss for words. Daisuke had kissed him? Somehow he couldn't bring his mind to accept this idea but there was no other possible conclusion. The sensation had been unmistakable.

"Satoshi, please say something. You're scaring me!"

"I'm sorry, Daisuke. I was a little bit… distracted." The blue-haired commander forced a weak smile on his lips and noticed with amusement how happy the other boy suddenly seemed.

"After all you've been through it's more than understandable to feel distracted. But..." Daisuke fidgeted restlessly, obviously not sure how to continue.

'Come on, Dai-chan! Ask him. We can't afford to waste any more time.'

"There is something we need to talk about." Daisuke decided that it was best for him to plunge right in. "We know what happened. Krad is gone. Dark told me that this forced separation is hurting you and I want to bring him back."

Satoshi inhaled sharply but his friend wasn't finished.

"Dark remembered the diaries your family kept. Please give them to us. We need to gather as much information as possible about the net before we go back into the house and fight it."

Daisuke wanted to bring Krad back? Take such a risk only for a demon who wanted to kill him more than once? Satoshi's thoughts were quickly reduced to one question. "Why?"

"Because I l... care about you." Blushing furiously the boy in front of him suddenly found the ceiling rather interesting.

'How inconspicuously.'

**'Shut up.'**

'Why can't you admit that its not his friendship your interested in?'

"Because it's not true!"

Blinking in surprise, Satoshi asked slightly bewildered: "What's not true?"

"Erm...never mind." Daisuke flashed a brilliant red and did his best to ignore the thief's hysterical laughter in the back of his head. "Please, Satoshi! Give us those diaries!"

The bluenette closed his eyes. "And you really want to bring him back?"

Oh god, how he needed him. To fill this aching hole in his heart and soul with the presence of his demon again. Maybe there even was a chance for them to learn to bear each others presence without fighting. If only he got him back he would do better.

Daisuke nodded. "Yes."

A soft sigh, then: "Alright. I'll give them to you."

"Thank you, Satoshi!" Daisuke leaned in and before his friend had the slightest chance to react he planted a short kiss on his cheek. "I'll tell mom about it."

Then he was gone and Satoshi found himself staring in deep shock at the closed door.

tbc


End file.
